Final Paper #3

Molly O’Brien

December 3, 2015

 

Suffrage in Our Home Country-Homelessness and Living in Poverty

 

Approximately 3.5 million Americans, 1.35 million of them being children, are expected to experience homelessness in a given year. (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2003). Homelessness and poverty are two diverse situations, but both entail suffrage. No one deserves to be deprived of a home, but people are losing them daily. With the escalating costs of basic needs, it is becoming exceptionally challenging to earn a living in today’s economy. It just solely doesn’t seem fair that even with a job; living in poverty and/or being homeless is still a concern. But, in the United States this is a factual statement for many Americans. Children shouldn’t be deprived of a meal merely because their parent(s) cannot afford to feed them dinner that night. There are numerous amounts of reasons as to why people plummet into poverty; but there are also plenty of things America can do to help.

The most basic reasoning as to why people end up homeless or in extreme poverty is drug and alcohol abuse. In fact, two thirds of homeless people do have a problem with substance/drug abuse. (Leal, 2009). But, instead of shaming those who make these choices and suffer the consequences, there must be support provided to those in these circumstances. Mental illness, loss of a job, and/or highered cost of rent are also common causes for homelessness and poverty, which aren’t always that exact persons fault. We as a country need to tend to the needs of these people, instead of watching our brothers and sisters fall deeper and deeper into suffrage. In some cases, being homeless may be a choice. In these circumstances, no help can be given. The other 1/3 of people that end up homeless, need to be cared for, because in these situations the person is really not to blame, unless they chose this path. Drug and alcohol addictions are ultimately a choice, being laid off (or some other financial struggle) is not.

A major reason as to why this country has even gotten itself into this mess is that funding has majorly dwindled for low income homes. In 1970, there was a surplus of 300,000 affordable housing units in the U.S. But then, in the 1980s, affordable housing began to evaporate. The Reagan administration slashed funding. Federal spending on housing assistance fell by 50 percent between 1976 and 2002. In the midst of it all, gentrification sped up, and cities be rid of affordable housing like single room occupancy units and swapped them for more expensive stock. Units being assembled more often befitted co-ops and condos for ownership as a substitute for rent. (Covert, 2013) This elucidates the upsurge of people on the streets. It simply is not acceptable that low income housing options are not easily attained. The people in this country range from poor to rich, and everywhere in between. In order to care for our people we must give them options. If one cannot afford rent even with a job, why does it seem suitable for their only choice to be to live on the streets?

After discussing why it is crucial to put an end to homelessness and poverty as well as the trials and tribulations along the way, it is appropriate to confer how to take a stand on homelessness, as well as how to decrease poverty. The simple reasoning is that in order to aid to each other, we must first make sure we are secure. To elaborate, one cannot help another if that individual still needs to help oneself. Why is it that Selena Gomez can rack in 3 million a year, yet many Americans find it problematic to earn over 10 dollars an hour? The response is simple; our priorities are downright messed up. The millions of dollars shelled out every year to simply deliver entertainment must stop, and a surplus of money must be implemented to help the bulk of our people. There are more people homeless/living in poverty than there are celebrities, so why not direct our money towards assisting them?

The topic of homelessness and poverty will be never ending. It will always exist in America; because that’s the tone that was set many years ago. Americans are too consumed with themselves and their blingy cars and gigantic homes to even open their eyes to those in need. Some of these people may argue that it is a waste of time and money to attempt to help those homeless/in poverty. The truth of the matter is that it takes one small act to significantly help someone. It begins in our neighborhoods, our towns, our cities. If all of Poulsbo were to contribute any small thing they could to the homeless population, change would be noticed. If even half of the population of this town brought one can of food to Fishline, we would have roughly 5000 more cans of food. There’s no excuse to not help your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends and family. If we focused on taking care of ourselves first, then people closest to us, our arms could reach to so many desperate for comfort and assistance. No one desires to live in poverty. No one deserves to be homeless. It starts in your own home, if every person contributed to some degree, America truly would be changed. “Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the action of human beings.”-Nelson Mandela

 

Works Cited

 

"National Poverty Center | University of Michigan." RSS. Ed. Robert Michael and Contance Citro.      National Academy Press, 2003. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/#TOP>.

Covert, Bryce. "It Would Actually Be Very Simple To End Homelessness Forever." It Would Actually Be Very Simple To End Homelessness Forever Comments. Think Progress, 09 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/10/09/3577980/end-homelessness/>.

Leal, Daniel, Marc Galanter, Helen Dermatis, and Laurence Westreich. "Correlates of Protracted Homelessness in a Sample of Dually Diagnosed Psychiatric Inpatients." Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 16.2 (1999): 143-47. Substance Abuse and Homelessness. National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/addiction.pdf>.

"What Are the Major Contributing Factors to Homelessness?" Coalition for the Homeless. Coalition for the Homeless Leading Houston Home, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.homelesshouston.org/coalition-faq/what-are-the-major-contributing-factors-to-homelessness-in-the-u-s/>.